New Hampshire 's RPS statute, RSA 362-F, requires each electricity provider to meet customer load by purchasing or acquiring certificates representing generation from renewable energy based on total megawatt-hours supplied. New Hampshire ’s RPS statute divides renewable energy sources into four separate classes that include the following:

Class I resources include generation facilities that began operation after January 1, 2006 and produce electricity from: wind energy; geothermal energy; hydrogen derived from biomass fuel or methane gas; ocean thermal, wave, current, or tidal energy; methane gas; or biomass. Displacement of electricity by end-use customers from solar hot water heating systems, incremental new production from Class III and IV sources, and existing hydropower and biomass facilities that began operation as a new facility through capital investment also qualify as class I sources.

Class II sources include generation facilities that produce electricity from solar technologies and began operation after January 1, 2006 .

Class III sources include generation facilities that began operation on or before January 1, 2006 and produce electricity from eligible biomass technologies having a gross nameplate capacity of 25 megawatts or less or methane gas facilities.

Class IV: SB 218, enacted in June 2012 modified the definition of a Class IV source. Class IV sources are now defined as: hydroelectric generation facilities that began operation on or before January 1, 2006, and when required, have documented applicable state water quality certification under section 401 of the Clean Water Act, and either A) has a capacity of 5 megawatts or less and has actually installed upstream and downstream diadromous fish ladders, or B) has a capacity of one megawatt or less , is in compliance with applicable FERC fish passage restoration requirements, and is interconnected with an electric distribution system located in New Hampshire. Please note that the Commission has issued an Order waiving the PUC’s administrative rule requiring certain Class IV facilities to have installed upstream and downstream diadromous fish passages. See Order 25,394.

The RPS requirement increases to 7.5% for 2010, 8.3% for 2015 and 24.8% for 2025. The RPS obligations by class and year are as follows:

Renewable Portfolio Standard Obligations

Calendar Year

Total Requirement

Total Class I

Thermal Class I

Class II

Class III

Class IV

2008

4.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

3.50%

0.50%

2009

6.00%

0.50%

0.00%

0.00%

4.50%

1.00%

2010

7.54%

1.00%

0.00%

0.04%

5.50%

1.00%

2011

9.58%

2.00%

0.00%

0.08%

6.50%

1.00%

2012

5.55%

3.00%

0.00%

0.15%

1.40%

1.00%

2013

5.80%

3.80%

0.00%

0.20%

0.50%

1.30%

2014

7.20%

5.00%

0.40%

0.30%

0.50%

1.40%

2015

8.30%

6.00%

0.60%

0.30%

0.50%

1.50%

2016

9.20%

6.90%

1.30%

0.30%

0.50%

1.50%

2017

17.60%

7.80%

1.40%

0.30%

8.00%

1.50%

2018

18.50%

8.70%

1.50%

0.30%

8.00%

1.50%

2019

19.40%

9.60%

1.60%

0.30%

8.00%

1.50%

2020

20.30%

10.50%

1.70%

0.30%

8.00%

1.50%

2021

21.20%

11.40%

1.80%

0.30%

8.00%

1.50%

2022

22.10%

12.30%

1.90%

0.30%

8.00%

1.50%

2023

23.00%

13.20%

2.00%

0.30%

8.00%

1.50%

2024

23.90%

14.10%

2.00%

0.30%

8.00%

1.50%

2025 and thereafter

24.80%

15.00%

2.00%

0.30%

8.00%

1.50%

*Class I thermal is a subset of Class I. The thermal requirements are subsumed in the Class I requirement and are not additional to Class I.

Obligations highlighted in red indicate changes made by SB148 and HB542 and the following Orders:

Note that with Order No. 25,844 dated December 2, 2015 under Docket No. 15-477, the Commission changed the Class III obligations in 2016.

Note that with Order No. 25,484 dated April 4, 2013 under Docket No. DE 13-021, the Commission changed the Class III obligations in 2012 and 2013 and the Class I and Class I thermal obligations in 2013.

Click here for more information on the development of the Class I Thermal Renewable Energy Certificate Program.

Pursuant to RSA 362-F:6, II-a and Puc 2503.04(d), the Commission has computed a preliminary estimate of the percentage credit for Class I and Class II based on the capacity of the customer-sited sources that are net metered and are not certified to create Class I or II renewable energy certificates (RECs).

Credit for Class I:

0.0062%

Credit for Class II:

0.1784%

This credit is based on the following assumptions:

Total Estimated 2015 Electricity Sales

10,836,882,909 kWh

Customer Sited Sources that are Net Metered and Not Certified to Create RECs

Class I Capacity

392* kW

Class II Capacity

18,855* kW

Capacity Factor

20%

*Note that for any facility that came on-line in 2015, the estimated generation was pro-rated based on the month that it came on-line.

At the time of the renewable portfolio standard compliance filing, an electricity provider may claim a Class I REC credit equal to the percentage credit for Class I times the total electricity (mWh) provided to end-use customers by that electricity provider. In addition, an electricity provider may claim a Class II REC credit equal to the percentage credit for Class II times the total electricity (mWh) provided to end-use customers.

Under the RPS statute, electricity providers are required to generate or purchase renewable energy certificates from suppliers through the New England Power Pool generation information system (NEPOOL-GIS). A renewable energy certificate represents 1 megawatt-hour of electricity produced from eligible renewable energy sources and may be sold separately from the associated electricity.

If the electricity providers are not able to meet the RPS requirements by purchasing or acquiring renewable energy certificates, they must pay alternative compliance payments (ACPs). The alternative compliance payment prices by class are:

In accordance with RSA 362-F:10, III. (a), the ACPs for Class IV are adjusted by the Consumer Price Index and for Classes I and II by ½ of the Consumer Price Index. In accordance with RSA 362-F:10, III. (b), the Class III ACP is $45 for 2015, 2016, and 2017.

Please submit either a hard copy or electronic versions of the Form E-2500 AND the GIS My Settled Certificates Disposition Reports. Please submit the electronic versions to [email protected] and the hard copies to the following: